SOCIAL MEDIA The new life of brands on social networks

SOCIAL MEDIA

The new life of brands on social networks

By Andrea De Amicis

In the last year, due to the Coronavirus situation, the presence of brands on social networks has increased and there are more tools for the digital life of companies.

In this particular moment in time, consumers most beloved and sought afterbrands are those with the best digital reputation. Companies have always been present on social media: from year to year, and especially in the last period marked by the social distancing of Covid19, their presence has increased. Social media is committed to acknowledging the needs of brands, developing new tools and initiatives. Facebook had already thought about Business Manager last year, which allowed companies to create personalized

advertising campaigns and develop a loyal

audience for the ads. Last month Business Suite was launched, a new dashboard that enables companies to manage their business on Facebook and Instagram, from any digital device. It has several tools, such as those dedicated to publishing, messaging, insights and advertising features. Facebook (on Instagram) has also recently launched Reel, a short-form video feature that allows users to create 15-second clips similar to TikTok’s, to share within the app. The short videos are simple and of great appeal to the public, so they can be very useful for companies.

In Italy Facebook has just announced the second phase of the #piccolegrandimprese program (tailor-made services for companies), which launched in July

2020 to support the resumption of small businesses that had been hit hard in the last period. It will help SMEs to initiate an effective digital transformation and

to understand the new buying habits of Italians. In fact, from 24 September to the end of December 2020, #piccolegrandimprese will be offering Facebook Business Open Days, free monthly webinars, with support and livechat with Facebook experts and partners such as Shopify, Talent Garden and Free formers. Interested SMEs will be able to register directly from the online hub facebook.com/piccolegrandimprese.

A FAQ feature is being developed on Instagram. The platform is working on all the frequently asked questions related to Business accounts, in order to provide more immediate answers to users.

Twitter released Holiday Hub, a mini-site aimed at helping marketers prepare for the winter holiday season, with tips and tools for mapping campaigns. The element that is most urgent and valuable for companies present on social networks is the possibility of building a solid community. On the social networks listed above, there is a lack of services such as personalization of the online space and access to user data for brands. Self community, an Italian company headed by Mariano Pireddu, was created to address these needs. The platform aims to build a genuine social network, implementing a whole series of marketing automation tools that give companies full control of their message, with a 100%reach. In addition, the company is allowed access to the available data of the community’s users, while generally the sensitive data of the users remain exclusive with the various social networks. Self-community is suitable not only for brands but also for trade associations, non-profit organizations and communities of enthusiasts. Within the platformthere is a traditional discussion forum, which is combined with the technology of stringent social updates, which calls the user to the discussion, alerting him if there are any news. There are also many other tools such as gamification and loyalty, which increase the sense of belonging to the community. The ultimate goal of Self Community is to engage a

consistent group of people interested in the central topic and / or the brand itself with the brand. Micro-influencers can be used as support, which become a point of reference for the user group. There is also the option to be indexed on Google. Surely for communities exposing their content to the outside is an advantage, but those who use the tool for informational or organizational purposes may prefer not to be reachable. In addition, we must consider that the content on Self Community can be shared on other social networks, potentially reducing any user

acquisition costs.

TikTok is going through a very difficult legal situation in America, but the company is positive, strong and convinced it will find a solution. It has also been increasingly in the spotlight for the numbers of its views (100 million users per month in Europe alone) and for being able to reach anaudience of teenagers and young people up to 22-24 years. Since it believes so much in the abilities of its users to create original content based on dance, singing and acting, it has allocated a three-year investment of around 250 million euros to help them turn their creativity into a career path. For brands it is now essential to collaborate effectively with creators and influencers, and for this reason TikTok Creator Marketplace, which offers many services, is now available. It allows brands to search for the most suitable creator, based on its content. At that point the brand can contact the influencer chosen for a particular campaign; if he accepts the engagement, he will become operational by sharing all the details of the case with the company. Brands can then access exclusive data and

receive insights on public demos, growth trends, top performing videos and more. Prominent space is given to creators of global significance.

Recently TikTok For Business was launched providing set of services for companies, in collaboration with approximately 20 certified partners in various areas of expertise, including campaign management, creative development and the use of virtual effects, customized for the brands.

Other platforms that help plan, create, optimize and measure marketing campaigns are Sprinklr, the world’s leading Customer Experience Management (CXM) platform, and Win Clap, a marketing company that provides advanced analysis of IA, experience and creative production to increase campaign performance.

Other companies are helping marketers generate inspiring and effective creative content, like Shuttlerock, which transforms existing brand assets into stunning video ads, and VidMob, a leading creative post-production and analytics platform, which uses data to focus on the brand’s creative potential, improving ads and boosting marketing performance. Other partners provide virtual and augmented reality services to brands, from concept to production of TikTok effects. For example, Bare Tree Media, a creative agency that offers a complete service and empowers brands to reach, engage and entertain consumers through the creation and digital publication of augmented reality, emojis, stickers and GIFs within popular messaging platforms.